Kevin Sharp –
New Zealand’s largest specialised digital design school is bringing the first-ever free digital media foundation course to the Bay of Plenty.
From April, ACG Yoobee School of Design will deliver a brand new Level 2 vocational pathway programme in Tauranga.
Targeted at creative 16-19 year olds, the 24-week course is the perfect introduction to creative industries, and covers everything from Design Principles, Graphic Design and Web Design to Filmmaking and Animation.
The Course offers a vocational pathway programme into these visionary fields and is the first to be approved in New Zealand.
Exciting Development
It was an exciting development bringing major benefits to school-leavers in the Bay of Plenty. This is a fantastic pathway into further study and employment in the creative industries. Until now, Bay of Plenty residents have had to move to Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch to take this step.
The course is tailor-made for creative students who have already left school, or those who are still in school, but are finding traditional subjects are not working for them.
Helping teenagers
It is an excellent start for teenagers wanting to get into a creative field, as it is very practical and hands-on course.
It will give them a taste of all the different creative industries and help them work out where they want to specialise.
The course provides pathways to higher level certificate and diploma programmes that prepare students for a range of jobs such as graphic designer, animator, technical manager, photographer and website developer.
Successful graduates will come away with a Vocational Pathway Award (Creative Industries). They will also attain NCEA Level 2 if they gain the necessary literacy and numeracy standards.
They will understand the basic principles of using computers and digital/still video cameras, apart from mastering introductory digital illustration techniques. They will also be able to capture and edit video.
Creative images
They will also know how to create images and pages suitable for web publication and how to create and animate 2D objects.
We will also work with them to put together their CVs and a design portfolio, which is vital if they want to apply for further study or have their sights set on employment in the creative industries.
After graduating with their Level 2 qualification, students can staircase into ACG Yoobee’s Level 3 Certificate in Digital Media (iCreate).
Currently available in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, the popular course will be launched in Tauranga later this year.
The new Level 2 Vocational Pathways: Creative Industries course starts on April 6, 2015 and will be held for 24 weeks, from Monday to Friday, 8 am to 1 pm.
ACG Yoobee will provide daily transport to and from the CBD and the campus.
Kevin Sharp is Academic Manager of ACG Yoobee Auckland. ACG Tertiary & Careers Group is a Sponsor of the Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards 2015.